Corner blocking plate



April 4, 1942- w. w. LEMEN EIAL v 2,279,755

CORNER BLOCKING PLATE Filed Feb. 18, 1941 Patented Apr, 14. 1942 William W.

Lemen and Abner -P. Offutt, Glendale, Calif.

Application February 18, 1941, Serial No. 379,476

1 Claim.

The principal object of our invention is the provision of a device adaptable for instantaneous attachment, for example, to the respective corners of a room, staircase, or the like, and right angular formations of any sort, whether embraced in the lower portion of a room structure adjacent the floor, or at the upper portion thereof adjacent the ceiling, and kindred other places where it is desired to change any right angular formation into a smoothly finished rounded one.

The paramount objective of the present invention is to provide an unmistakable and highly distinguishing improvement over similar devices of said character. the Jackson device, Patent No. 1,830,108, issued November 3, 1931, and the MacDonald device, Patent No. 1,622,656, issued March 29, 1927, in particular, ownership whereof is now possessed by the herein applicants, and recorded by assignment duly made in the United States Patent Ofiice, applicants improved corner blocking plate being absolutely devoid of the plane surface the MacDonald corner plate provides and which at best, although covering the sharp right angular corner of the walls of a room adjacent the floor, for example, in turn creates two oblique angles, to all intents and purposes as fully objectionable as the right angular corner eliminated thereby; the Jackson device, on the other hand, furnishes a corner block conforming in its contour with the base shoe and base shoe moulding in manner equally as objectionable, since its formation creates a socalled dust collecting pocket, moreover, it presents no such graceful sweeping covering as applicants device herein disclosed.

It is thus a highly important object of the present invention to provide a device completely eliminating the defects and undesirable features of each of said patents, and, at the same time, improved as to general appearance, said latter feature in its physical aspects, being the more fully appreciated when viewed in a room of a pretentious furnished mansion and higher class homes where round cornered rooms predominate over the squared cornered rooms.

A further object of the herein invention is to provide a device eliminating all necessity for providing a mitered or other close-fitting joint of the base shoe moulding, a gap of an inch or more in, the jointure being readily covered, and thus making possible both a saving in time and material over present practice where no such corner blocking plate is employed.

A further important object of the present invention is the provision of a device providing a snugly fitting corner covering arranged either to overlap or extend flush with the base shoe moulding, as may be desired, and so positioned, leaving no recessed or protruding portions.

And a further object is to provide a device of said character, which, though having an inolination from the perpendicular suficient to extend over and snugly contact the base shoe moulding, is so shaped from the apex of the plate to its edge touching the floor, for example, as to provide but little, if any, surface for the accumulation of dust upon the plate proper. There is thus provided an ingenious device formed to snugly overlap the moulding to which it is suitably attachable at each of its sides, yet having an intervening surface concaved laterally and vertically with a gradual rise sloping to an angular point of graceful lines in comparison to the austere aspect of either of the patented devices aforementioned, the whole comprising a highly pleasing satisfactory aspect of the room structure, the complete elimination of the sharp angular corner greatly facilitating sweeping and dusting requirements.

Numerous other objects and material advantages of the device will more fully appear as this specification proceeds and as is set forth in the appended claim.

We attain these objects by the device described in the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view showing the corner blocking plate in a corner formed by portions of the walls and the floor of a room;

Figure 2 is a section on line 2-2 of Figure l, and

Figure 3 is a section on line 33 of Figure 1.

Similar numerals and letters of reference indicate like parts throughout the several views, thus ll] indicates the corner blocking plate proper which embraces a pair of arms ll having apertures I2 through which nails, screws, or the like N may be placed for holding contact with the conventional base shoes 13.

The arms II are shaped at their extremities to conform to and enrap the rounded surface of the base shoes, but the body' of the plate is less severe in its curvature, diminishing from the arms to the central portion l2 of the plate and thereby completely eliminating any shelf-like shape,

The corner blocking plate presents a concave appearance at the forward or base edge l3 which is planar and rests on the floor F. I

An apex or sharp tip 14 of the plate is positioned in the corner formed by the junction J of the side walls W.

Side edges l of the plate converging from the arms H to the apex [4 contact the sidewalls W. The end edging of these arms extend right angularly from the base line.

The upper surface of the plate adjacent-the edges is concavely shaped.

The arms lL-may extend so asto overlap the base shoe B asis shown in Figure 1, or the latter may if desired, be cut-away the relative thickness of the plate so that it may contact, yet over:

lap the base shoe, fiush with the surface thereof; It should be noted that the plate of our inven:

tion is curvilinear in cross-section along its major and minor axis. In other words, from tip to its from time to time be made in the details of StlllC-r ture illustrated without departing, however, from the scope of the present invention, and as defined in the claims which are appended hereto. Hence,

planar base the plate is generally concave but has minor convex areas within its generally concave whole area, and in all events is, curvilinear along vertical and horizontal lines throughout. Moreover, the plate has a unique shape in that it is formed with an ogee curveinvertical section along its major vertical axis, that is, along a wide vertical middle or central portion thereof as is plainly shown in FigureB. These shapes and formations provide easily reached curved'surfaces throughout. the exposed area of the plate element (usual dust and dirt catching portions), and make for a better conforming, better appearing unit. It is further characterized by having a depth and height substantially equal to one another. a

The device readily commends itself for its ready adaptation as an all purpose corner eliminator., It may be produced from materials readily procurable in the openmarket-andat no great cost, metal, wood, compositions and plastic mate-' rialsreadily lend themselves to-its manufacture.

we do not limit our present invention to the exact description of construction disclosed, but what we do claim is:

A corner blocking plate having a planar base edge-from which end edges extend substantially right angular and above which end edges the remainder of the plate has side edges converging to a sharp tip at the top of the major vertical axis of the whole plate, said plate being curvilinear both vertically and horizontally throughout its whole area and being generally concave on its outer surface exceptfor exteriorly convex and interiorly concave moulding engaging portions extending inwardly from said end edges, said moulding engaging portions having openings for fastenings, the convergingside edges extending right angularly for contact withright-angular members which form the corner in which the plate is adapted to fit. V A

- WILLIAM W. LEMENL ABNER P. OFFUTT. 

